Broken Chances
by kaylakat2009
Summary: Stephanie is away on a distraction job with Ranger in Florida and comes home to find news awaiting her on her answering machine. One night will send her message back. BABE ending; not Morelli friendly-I was persuaded. It's continued!
1. Chapter 1

_**ONE-SHOT**_

_So, I had an idea the other day and, although I vowed to never write Stephanie Plum fanfics, I have gone against my rules. Alas, here is the first, and not only, fic I plan to write for this series. Have fun and review! ___

**Disclaimer: **I do _not_ own the Stephanie Plum series, which belongs to Janet Evanovich-unfortunately-and I also do not own the song "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift.

BROKEN CHANCES

BY CRYSTAL PONY

The plane touched down in Newark, New Jersey and Stephanie sighed in relief. She turned to look at Ranger and found him smiling at her in amusement. She glared at him and he turned his full 1000 watt grin on her. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What?!" He continued to grin at her and shook his head.

"Nothing Babe. Let's go." She huffed at him and followed him off the plane. Glancing around the airport, Stephanie shivered when she saw the cold snow waiting for them when they walked out of the warm building. She turned her head when a low chuckle reached her ears and continued frowning at Ranger.

He gently took her arm and steered her towards baggage claim. Just recently, they had been in Florida working a distraction job for Rangeman. Obviously, they had just returned after a successful takedown and was dreading having to face the cold winter air of New Jersey.

Grabbing their luggage off the belt, Ranger turned and walked to the exit door, Stephanie following after him. A black F-450 was idling at the curb in front of an equally black SUV. Stephanie grinned at Tank and Lester, Ranger's right hand men as they got out of the truck and headed towards her.

Steph was pulled into a tight hug and grinned at Ranger's glare, which was directed at his aforementioned right hand men. Her bags were quickly loaded into the truck, as was she, when Ranger finally got into the driver's seat after debriefing his men. He smiled over at her and put the truck into 'drive', heading out of town and onto the road leading to Trenton, New Jersey.

*

It was an hour later when Ranger pulled into Stephanie's parking lot and cut the engine, turning to face her. She smiled at him in thanks and got out of the truck, gathering her stuff from the backseat. She entered her apartment and flicked on the lights, setting the bags down with a relieved sigh. That sigh turned to one of disgust when her gaze flicked over to the angrily flashing answering machine. She looked again and was taken back at the 145 messages waiting for her. She sighed and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator before plopping onto the couch and hitting the 'play' button. Her mother's voice came over the machine and Stephanie grimaced at the sound.

"Stephanie, this is your mother speaking. Pick…"

"Stephanie! Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I just heard that Joe's been cheating on you with Terry and Joyce. Can you say eww? Call…" Stephanie cut off the machine and deleted the rest of the messages waiting for her. She sighed again and threw the bottle at the wall, jumping when she heard an answering fist going through her wall. She turned, startled to see Ranger standing there, fist bawled and eyes flashing fury. She slowly stood up and walked to where he was standing and looked at the impressive hole in the wall. She sighed and turned her attention back to Ranger.

"Ok. I admit I am mad, but _I_ have a right to be. You don't." He glared at her and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. Sitting down in one of the ratty chairs, he popped the top on the beer and drained half of the bottle. Stephanie stared at him for a moment before going to her room and shutting the door. She stripped to her t-shirt and boy shorts before falling in bed, calling out an order for Ranger to lock up when he left. Then, all was quiet before hell broke loose.

*

Dawn broke the new day and Stephanie woke up with an arm banded across her waist. She tensed and glanced down in confusion, relaxing when she saw the golden brown skin of her best friend. She leaned further back into Ranger's arms and felt them tighten around her. She looked back and met his gaze, warm on her face. She whispered a shy 'hi' and received one in turn. She turned back around and snuggled back into his arms, falling asleep quickly.

*

An hour or two passed before Stephanie woke back up. She noticed the space next to her was empty and frowned, wondering where Ranger went. The sound of running water from her bathroom pulled Stephanie from her musings and she got up, grinning evilly. Waltzing into the kitchen, she was stopped short at the sight of a box of Boston Crèmes and a pot of fresh coffee. She inhaled the aroma and squeaked when a pair of arms snuck around her waist. She looked up to see Ranger grinning at her and smiled back, thankful for the morning…meal. Pulling out of his arms, she walked back over to the box and took a bite out of one before offering Ranger the box. He shook his head 'no' to her unasked question and she shrugged, returning the box to the counter. She poured both her and Ranger a cup of coffee and diluted hers with milk and sugar. She went to do the same to Ranger's cup only to have it snatched from her. She grinned and replaced the coffee stuff before turning to her coffee. She drank at least half of it before looking at Ranger again. His grin was wide and bright looking back at her. She glared at him and put her cup back down.

"What do you want? And _what_ are you grinning at?!" Ranger shook his head at her and turned to go past her and out the door. Before walking out, he turned to her and issued a challenging glance.

"So Babe, are you going to kill him or let me have the pleasure of doing so?" Stephanie shook her head at him and grinned.

"Thanks Batman, but I'll take care of him. In my _own_ way." Ranger grinned at her and walked out the door, ready to see Morelli get what he deserved.

*

A week went by without a confrontation between Joe and Stephanie. Unfortunately, for Joe at least, this 'time out' gave Stephanie the time to come up with the perfect idea for revenge. Ranger continued to watch over her, becoming more approachable and open. It was at the end of the second week when things came to a head. Mt. Stephanie exploded. Word had gotten around the 'Burg that Stephanie was now dating 'that bounty hunter' and Joe confronted her. Sadly, for Joe anyways, Stephanie was also fed up with the pitying glances from residents of the 'Burg area and her mother's non-stop rants of 'Why me?' and 'Now look what you've done! You ruined your only chance of marriage by keeping _that job_ and hanging out with _that thug._' Aka Ranger. Needless to say, Joe had bad timing.

The ordeal ended with a smoldering police car, a stunned-literally-Joe, and a fuming Stephanie wrapped up in Ranger's arms. The confrontation started off normal enough for Joe and Stephanie, at least for them, when a skip spotted Stephanie and threw a homemade Molotov cocktail. Fortunately, the skip had bad aim and missed Stephanie, but…well…it _didn't_ miss Joe's cop car. Basically, people stopped by for the weenie roast. Anyways, Joe went ballistic, blaming Stephanie for the current bon fire. I guess he missed the memo that _nobody_ touched Ranger's woman. He shoved her and Steph's knee became acquainted with 'the boys.' And, for a grand finale, she stunned his ass…literally. Ranger and Tank showed up to see Joe shove Stephanie, but Tank held Ranger back, barely, from bashing in his face. Fire trucks and cops showed up to see the show and passed money around. Their laughter was soon stopped when one happened to glance up and see their money-maker wrapped in Ranger's arms, ice shooting from their eyes. Statements were quickly taking and Steph was led back to Ranger's car and carefully placed inside of it.

Stephanie continued glaring out the window and jumped when she felt a hand engulf hers. She turned and smiled warily at Ranger, who in turn lifted her hand to his lips and then placed their entwined hands on his lap. Bliss.

*

Saturday night at Pino's hosted Stephanie's plan for revenge. You see, about a month ago, Pino decided to create a karaoke night to draw more business. It became a regular hang-out for Stephanie and the off-duty Merry Men. Most importantly, it became a bigger hang-out for Trenton's finest, especially one named Joe Morelli.

It was nearing nine o'clock when Stephanie finally made an appearance, Ranger's hand resting low on her back, followed by Tank, Lester, Hal, Cal, and Bobby. They headed straight to a table in the back of the room, backs against the walls, and ordered pizzas and beers, Ranger taking a day off for once. Stephanie got up and headed to the bathroom, stopping to talk to Pino for a moment. Ranger's eyes tracked her movement, aware of everything around him. Tank cleared his throat and Ranger turned his head, lifting an eyebrow at his friend.

"Yes?" Tank laughed and shook his head, looking away from Ranger's silent glare. Stephanie soon came back to the table and settled once again at Ranger's side. He smiled down at her before turning his attention back to the conversation. A throat being cleared over the microphone snagged everyone's attention and the waitress introduced the first singer. Half an hour passed with horrible singing, only a few could be called possibly pleasant, when the waitress called Stephanie to the stage. She gave Ranger a quick kiss and a wink before strutting up to the stage, waving shyly at everyone calling her name and whistling. She stopped in front of the microphone and glanced out at the crowd, immediately finding Joe. She cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone.

"Hey all! I'm going to sing "Should've Said No" by Taylor Swift and, Joe, this one goes out to you." The lights dimmed and the beat started, Stephanie's husky voice soon joining the band. The crowd started singing along with her and Joe paled when she started down the stairs and stopped in front of him to finish the song, finally walking into Ranger's arms as she sang the last line to him.

"You should've said no, baby and you might still have me." The lights came back on as the music faded out and the crowd went wild. The Merry Men came up to surround a slightly sad Stephanie and Ranger, a smirk on his face, ready to defend their boss and his woman, more importantly, they were defending their best friends. Stephanie took a deep breath and whispered one last time into the microphone.

"Good bye Joe." She carefully set the microphone on the table and walked out of Pino's in Ranger's arms and, at the same time, she walked out of Joe's life. Forever.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry for taking so long guys. I've been kinda caught up in packing and getting stuff together for college next month. Joy! …Not. So, here is the second chapter of _Broken Chances_ and I hope you enjoy! ___

**DISCLAIMER: **Again, I do _not_ own Janet Evanovich's characters…does she?

**CHAPTER TWO**

I had only been a month since that fateful day in Pino's and the humiliation of Joe. He had still not forgiven her for that stunt and glared at her every time they ran across each other in the cop shop. It was only the presence of one of the Merry Men, or Ranger himself, that kept him from saying something to her. That all changed yesterday…

Stephanie had Mooner as a skip, again, and was stuck watching _Leave It to Beaver_ re-runs all afternoon long. Ram was her shadow today and was called away when a robbery was reported at one of their high-priced condos that they provided security for. Since he was the only one not in the middle of something at the moment, he was dispatched along with Bobby and Cal to take care of the problem. This left only Mooner as her baby-sitter.

Around fifteen minutes after Ram was called away, there was a commercial break and Stephanie managed to persuade Mooner that they could leave now and get back before it came back on. One would think that he wouldn't fall for it, but he was in his 'happy place' and would have thought that they could go to Canada and be back before it came back on. Alas, he followed her out to the car and got in the backseat while she fought to make the car start, again. She still refused Ranger's offer to outfit her with a running car and held onto her independence, hince the sputtering waste of metal on wheels.

A lot of curses, threats, and bangs later, Stephanie managed to get the car to run, somewhat, and traveled to the cop shop, hoping to not have to put up with Morelli today. Entering the building, she drug Mooner to the desk and pushed him into the seat before collecting her check. She had called Connie on the way over and was waiting for her to re-bond Mooner when the 'Italian Stallion' graced her with his presence. Joy.

Stephanie stood looking out the window for Connie's car when a rude snort made her tense. She hoped against all hope that who was behind her was Robin and not _someone_ else. She turned and began cursing to herself, muttering about dumb luck. Joe Morelli stood in front of her, feet braced apart and hands on his hips, smirking at her. She glared at him and looked back out the window, pointedly ignoring him.

She had started to carry her gun on her at all times-loaded. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it today but unsnapped the holster just in case. Joe's gaze followed the movement and he raised his eyebrows at her in amusement.

"So, you plan to either ignore me or try shooting me with an unloaded gun? Funny of you since I know you wouldn't pull a gun on me in front of a bunch of cops. So, where is that bastard you think you're dating and his thugs? Busy screwing someone else? Is it true that they take their turns with you? I…" He couldn't get out the next bit of insults when a fist slammed into his stomach, knocking him into a knee that met his nose. He crumbled down, holding his nose, screaming insults and curses at her. She shook her hand for a second and drew back her foot, kicking him in the balls-what little he had. He keeled all the way over and was roughly pushed onto his back when she straddled him, gun in hand and against his temple. What he didn't know, and just found out, was that she had been training with Ranger and his _thugs_ everyday in the gym and on the gun ranger. Needless to say, she was better than she had been before.

Joe heard the snick of the safety coming off and gulped, his eyes narrowing on the gun pointed at his temple. The shop had gone quiet and everyone was standing around, most having heard what Joe had said and the rest getting the run-down of what they missed. No one moved to help him. The door opened to the shop, but the occupants filling the door went unnoticed to the rest of the crowd. They started to move forward until Stephanie's quiet voice filled the air.

"Never imply things about myself and my relationship to Ranger and his men. You don't know us and you don't know me. Keep your comments to yourself. Comprende?" Joe gulped again and nodded his head once. She pushed the gun against his temple harder and demanded he answer her verbally. He complied and she flicked the safety back 'on'. A hand gently took the gun from her and she turned, startled. She looked up to the face that held her gun and met Ranger's gentle eyes. He pulled her up from her position and drew her to the protection of his arms. He leaned down and gave her a gentle and tender kiss, tucking a curl back around her ear. He smiled at her and she grinned shyly back.

"Hi Ranger. When did you get here?" He shook his head at her slightly and continued grinning.

"Babe."


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey all, sorry I haven't updated sooner. The summer's just gotten away from me or maybe it kidnapped me. Oops! But I'm back now and will try to update quicker. Also look forward to longer chapters. Special thanks to Ber for all her help with this story. ____ As we all know, I don't own anything, Janet Evanovich does- even if some of us are wondering what she's doing with them._

**CHAPTER THREE**

When Stephanie woke up the next morning she was wrapped in mocha-latte goodness. Turning to face Ranger, she smiled up at him. As he ran his fingers through her curls, he gave her his sorta smile. Sighing he gave her a light kiss before rolling away to get out of bed and prepare to start his morning gym torture. She frowned a little and silently followed him into the bathroom, watching him in the mirror. Folding her arms, she raised an eyebrow at him, well, both but who's counting and continued to stare at him, trying to wait him out. That lasted for approximately a minute before she gave up.

"Ranger, what's wrong with you?" He raised an eyebrow of his at that.

"You haven't spoken a word to me. Not even a 'babe'." Ranger sighed again before turning to look her in the eyes.

"Babe, do you even realize what you did at the cop shop yesterday?" Stephanie frowned in confusion for a moment, then her eyes widened in surprise.

"Shit!" Ranger pulled her into his arms.

"Yea, Babe, that about sums it up."

Stephanie pulled out of his arms and started pacing the length of the bathroom, muttering about stupid Italian men and their stupid tempers. Ranger smiled slightly and leaned against the counter, waiting on her to wind down. The ringing cell phone ruined that opportunity.

"What?!" Stephanie stopped momentarily to wince at Ranger's tone and silently wished the person on the other end a speedy recovery of their ear drums…and pants. She heard very little of the conversation after that unsure if she should worry or not. She heard a quiet 'dammit' from Ranger and picked the winner.

Now would probably be a good time to run and was ready to do that when Ranger clicked the phone shut. She grimaced and turned to face him. His blank mask stared back at her and she sighed. His lips tilted up slightly at her and then he let out a sigh of his own.

_My, it's starting to get a little bit windy in here. Maybe I should…_ Stephanie's musings were cut off when Ranger snapped his fingers in her face. She huffed and looked back up at him.

"Stephanie, get dressed. We're needed in the control room." Rolling her eyes she headed back into the bedroom. _Not babe, not Steph. Stephanie. I knew I shoulda stayed in bed this morning._

When they arrived down on five, the floor was a hive of activity, well, more activity than normal. A few of the men nodded their acknowledgement as Ranger led Steph straight to the conference room. The sight that greeted Steph was not something she was prepared to see. Sitting at the table were Tank, Big Dog, Carl Costanza, Bobby and Lester.

Subconsciously, Steph took a step backwards and met Ranger's chest. He just kept walking forward, taking her body with his. It was an easy way to travel. Ranger took his seat before wrapping an arm around the still stunned Stephanie's waist and pulling her onto his lap. He nodded at Tank to start, who in turn looked at Big Dog and Carl.

"Steph, we're not here to bust you," Big Dog said softly.

"You can breathe now Steph," Carl added. Ranger put his hand to the back of her head and gently eased it between her knees.

"Why are you here?" Ranger asked

"We're here to let Steph know that the department supports her. No one saw anything yesterday, and gee, guess what, our security camera was on the fritz. She won't have a problem from us," Big Dog said evenly.

"We can't guarantee that Morelli won't cause a problem, personally. If it helps that's a civil matter, which we can help you with." Steph felt Ranger nod as Carl finished speaking.

"We take care of our own," Tank said.

"We know, but she's one of us too," Carl spoke again.

"Nobody's taking care of me. Joe will figure it out or we'll keep going to bat," Steph said as she straightened her spine.

"If you keep going to bat, bomber, no one will be able to help you," Bobby added.

"That's not what I meant. He'll figure it out or he won't but it's not going to always be my problem." Everyone nodded at this, "Thanks guys," she smiled before standing up to hug the cops.

"We're here for you. That's all we wanted to tell you."

"We appreciate that," Ranger stated while shaking their hands.

"Make her weapon disappear," Carl said on his way out the door. When the room cleared out, Ranger cleared his throat to get Stephanie's attention.

"Time to run babe."

"But," Steph started to protest then sighed and decided to not finish her argument. He was right. If she was going to stay aware –and button the top of her jeans- then she would have to stay in shape, even if it killed her.


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, hope this was quicker for you! Again, thanks Ber for the awesome help! ____ I don't own them Janet Evanovich…maybe…_

**CHAPTER FOUR**

An hour later found Stephanie sweaty and puffing for air. Leaning against the elevator wall, she glared at the sweat-free Ranger. He was leaning against the opposite wall smirking at her as she fought for breath.

"Shut up Ranger. I don't want to hear it. Got it?" He continued to look at her, eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Wasn't going to say a word babe. By the way, how are you feeling?" With a final glare and eye roll, Stephanie exited the elevator and stalked into the bathroom, intending to take a long _hot_ shower. By herself. Apparently, Ranger had other plans. With another heated glare, she shoved Ranger's foot out of the doorway and slammed the door in his face, not bothering with the lock. He would get in if he wanted to.

Stephanie walked down the hall on the fifth floor headed to her desk, stopping along the way to say 'hi' to Cal and Lester at the monitors. Reaching her desk, she slid the chair out and plopped down powering up the computer. She stuck her gun in the desk drawer and locked it, glancing over at her inbox. She eyed the _urgent_ searches-all from Rodriguez- and wished they would spontaneously combust. Didn't happen. She sighed and started on the searches knowing it would take most, if not all, of her morning to do them.

Stephanie worked the morning away and didn't let up until her last search was running. She sat up straighter in her chair, stretching the kinks out of her back. She grinned and twisted side to side, happy to feel a little bit better. Taking the last search from the printer her neck tingled.

"Hiya Ranger! What can I do for ya?" Steph swung around to find Ranger leaning against her door, arms crossed over his chest and a small smile gracing his mouth.

"Nothing babe. Just letting you know that I have to go out on a case with Tank and Lester. Have dinner with me on seven? I'll have Ella make you pineapple upside down cake." Ranger grinned at seeing Stephanie discreetly wipe drool away from her mouth.

"Okay! See you around six?" Ranger nodded before leaning over her to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Have fun and don't work yourself too hard. I have something planned for later." He left with his wolf grin firmly in place. Stephanie leaned back in her chair and started waving the search she had in her hand to try and cool off her over-heated skin. Hal walked by about that time and glanced in, smiling at the sight. Stephanie blushed before quickly turning back around to finish putting her last search together, before grabbing lunch.

She put the file down with a sigh an hour later, glad to be finished. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was nearing two and decided to call it quits for the day. _Special perk for being 'Ranger's woman' _Steph mused as she shut down the computer and took her gun out of the drawer, placing it in her holster. She gave a small finger wave to the guys at the monitors and left the building. She sighed at the sight of the POS called her ride for the week-hopefully a month-wishing she could afford to trade it in for something that had air conditioning. Sure, she knew Ranger would give her a car but she refused to take anything from him. She still had nightmares about the garbage truck.

Stopping at Cluck in a Bucket, she picked up a jumbo sized tub of drumsticks and wings before stopping to say hi to the girls at the bond office. When she walked through the door, the bucket was snatched from her hands and she was shoved onto the couch. She looked up to find Lula munching on a drumstick while Connie was sitting behind her desk, waiting for something. Stephanie glanced back and forth between the two before breaking.

"Ok, what gives?" Connie and Lula rolled their eyes at her and practically shouted 'cop shop' before Stephanie figured out what they wanted.

"Oh." Lula looked at her expectantly, waiting for more details. Stephanie sighed before giving in.

"Well, you see girls, it went like this." She continued to explain to them what had happened and grabbed a piece of chicken from the bucket before it was gone. When she finally finished her story, there was silence.

"You mean to tell me you pulled a gun on _Super Cop _in the _cop shop_ and everybody claims nobody saw it?! That's what I'm talking about white girl! Show him you're not coming back. Always knew you were too good for him anyway." Stephanie sent a small smile in Lula's direction, thankful for her friendship. Connie piped up, just then finding her voice.

"Damn Steph, you know how to make a statement don't ya?" It was a full minute-maybe- before everyone started rolling on the floor laughing. Once everyone calmed down, Stephanie sighed and asked for the low-down on what had been happening in their lives. Apparently, Tank was _the one_ for Lula and Connie had a hot new date for the night. Stephanie soon looked at the clock and noticed it was four-thirty. _Well hell._ She quickly said good-bye to the girls while ignoring their questions and shot back to the Rangeman building, hoping she had enough time to get ready before Ranger got home.

She made it just in time. The lock was tumbling when she swiped her mascara on. She grinned to herself in the mirror and walked into the living room, stopping when she saw Ranger. He looked…gorgeous. Apparently, he had showered in an apartment on the fourth floor and changed into a nice pair of slacks and a silk dress shirt-in black of course-that was opened at the throat. She discreetly checked for drool and slinked over to him in her little black dress, her heels tapping softly on the floor. Walking up to him, she gave him a sly grin before yanking his head down and planting a soft kiss on his lips, stunning him. When he tried to deepen the kiss, she moved back and shook her finger in his face.

"No dessert before dinner young man." Ranger smiled at this and walked around her to open the door for Ella. _Huh, must not have heard her knock._ Ella grinned at Steph as she rolled a food cart into the room, leaving a trail of delicious aromas. Steph eagerly followed, intent on finding out what was beneath the lids. She followed Ella into the living room where Ranger must have set up a romantic dinner area when he was in earlier to get his suit. Stephanie, being herself, hadn't noticed it on her way through the apartment. _Oops_. The smell of Bulgari became strong, alerting her that Ranger was close behind her. She turned, giving him a brilliant smile and a soft kiss. He smiled back, amazing her at the tenderness displayed in that simple act. The sound of a throat clearing behind them refocused their attention and they turned to see that Ella had set up dinner.

"I hope you enjoy your meal dears. Oh, and Stephanie, there's an extra big piece of pineapple upside down cake for you in the refrigerator. Enjoy!" She gave them both a knowing smile before practically waltzing out the room, leaving the cart right outside the door. Stephanie was startled when Ranger grabbed her hand and led it to his lips for a soft kiss. Her heart melted when she saw his smile. He led her over to the table and sat her before seating himself. Slowly, he removed the lids to reveal a piece of lasagna accompanied by a slice of garlic bread and a crisp salad for her and roasted chicken with steamed vegetables and wild rice on the side, for him. She moaned over her food and dug in with a relish, her moans of pleasure filling the room.

They looked up often to trade soft looks with each other before going back to the meal, unsure of where the night would lead. Stephanie had just wiped the last of the meaty sauce from her plate with the garlic bread when Ranger leaned over and took her hand, taking her to the living room. He sat her down in front of the coffee table where two glasses and a bottle of red wine chilled. He popped the cork and spilled a bit of the wine in each glass before offering her one. A few sips later, he took back the glass and set both on the table before grabbing her hands and facing her. His expression turned serious and he looked deeply into her eyes before speaking.

"Stephanie, I want you to know that I love you and would do anything to protect you. Okay?" She nodded her head at this and stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. When he did, it was like electricity went through her body.

"Babe, I want you to know that the place me, Tank, and Lester went to was Morelli's. He won't be bothering you, or us, again Steph. I promise you this." Stephanie panicked a moment at this. Ranger didn't miss it, immediately picking up on her concerns.

"Steph, he's still alive. All we did was sit down like civilized adults and talk it over. Him agreeing that he wasn't the best choice for you." She nodded, wondering where this discussion was leading.

"He broke his chance babe. I don't want to break mine." Getting down on one knee, Ranger pulled a Tiffany's jeweler box from his coat pocket, opening it to reveal a beautiful white gold ring, a small diamond in the middle surrounded by inlaid sapphires. Stephanie gasped in surprise, her eyes flying up to meet his.

"Stephanie, I have loved you since the day we met in that diner. I've continued to be your best friend and the one you've called on when you needed help or a shoulder to cry on. I've been the one to protect you and cherish you. I don't want to lose that. I've recognized my love for you since you helped to save Julie from Scrog, putting her life before your own. I want to continue to love you and I want to claim you as mine legally, where _no one_ can question either of our rights. Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you marry me?"

Stephanie slowly went down on her knees in front of Ranger, resting her forehead against his. She slowly took the hand that held the ring, bringing it to her lips. With a light kiss, she gave her answer.

"Oh Yes."


End file.
